Holige (Puranpoli/Obbattu)

Holige is the first dish that comes to my mind if I think of festive food. These lentil stuffed flatbreads are a must during festivals, celebrations, and marriages in Karnataka. The lentil stuffing is called Hoorna and the dough is called Kanaka. The Bengal gram lentils are boiled till tender and cooked with jagarry to make the stuffing. But what I also love is ‘Holige Saaru’ which is made using the water in which the lentil is cooked. Coconut can also be used to make the stuffing but lentil stuffed holige is my absolute favourite. Making this dish is time consuming, but the results are absolutely worth it. Enjoy hot holige by smearing a dollop of ghee or clarified butter and warm milk (I personally like it just with ghee but my family loves it with hot milk too).

Few things to remember before making holige:
– Don’t shy away from using oil while making the dough. If you reduce the amount of oil, the holige will not be soft
– The dough needs a minimum 4 hours of resting. It is best to rest it 6-8 hours. While the dough resting, keep kneading it every two hours with some oil
– Cook the holige on low to medium heat by adding few drops of oil
– While stuffing the dough, make sure the stuffing is double the amount of dough
– You may pat the holige on a baking sheet instead of rolling it. But I prefer rolling it by dusting with some flour